"?Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce is aiming for a strong start next season, as he looks to keep his side as far away from relegation as possible, to save the fans from constant heartache that comes every season.
Sunderland have long been a side that occupies the lower regions of the league, and finish with a desperate surge for safety, but Sam Allardyce wishes to change that in his first full season at the club, according to the "?Sunderland Echo.
Relegation to the Championship was close this year, but Allardyce maintained his record of never being relegated with any Premier League side.
But for the past four Premier League seasons Sunderland fans have endured heartache as the side flirts with the possibility of relegation, only to survive by the skin of their teeth.
Allardyce told the Sunderland Echo, "For the fans, especially, it's about trying to stop the heartache that they have suffered for the last four seasons on the trot, and try to give them that little bit more.
"That will all depend on how good a pre-season we have and how well we recruit because we've got to try and get off to a much better start than the club has achieved in the last four seasons when they've not won any of the first four or five games and it's always been a struggle from there on."?
Allardyce will be actively searching the transfer market for players to come to the club and make an impact, in a hope that they can strengthen their Premier League status.
January signings Lamine Kone and Wahbi Khazri played a particularly crucial role in retaining their place in the division, proving a good bit of business by the Black Cats.